Evil minds that plot destruction. Glenn Greenwald quoting Bill Kristol, who's a very very influential person among the Cheney/Rumsfeld cohort:

The war against radical Islamism is likely to be a long one. Radical Islamism isn't going away anytime soon. But it will make a big difference how strong the state sponsors, harborers, and financiers of radical Islamism are. Thus, our focus should be less on Hamas and Hezbollah, and more on their paymasters and real commanders--Syria and Iran. And our focus should be not only on the regional war in the Middle East, but also on the global struggle against radical Islamism.

For while Syria and Iran are enemies of Israel, they are also enemies of the United States. We have done a poor job of standing up to them and weakening them. They are now testing us more boldly than one would have thought possible a few years ago. Weakness is provocative. We have been too weak, and have allowed ourselves to be perceived as weak...

Yes. They are actively seeking to fight in a clash of civilizations, to enter into a Holy War which will last generations, and which the US cannot win in any military sense. This is such a bad idea, it's very hard to express.

Bill Kristol: sorcerer of death's construction.